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@anne_the_noob14 Ooh, nice drawing! That is how I imagined the layout of the hall.

@christlover It’s perfectly okay if you changed the setup of the hall. The castle is very flexible (literally). It may appear different in the eyes of different characters. The goal of this topic is to help you get to know your characters by writing with them. If that involves changing the layout of some things, that’s just fine. 🙂

@evelyn Mwahahaha! I love kidnapping characters, too. Looking forward to when you do join. 🙂

@elisha-starquill

funnily enough, there’s a scene similar to this in her story where she gives away her position by sneezing, because she has a cold. Hiding sneezes is not one of her talents, apparently.

That’s a crazy coincidence! xD

Random questions: does Caedon have any experience with weapons and fighting? What are his feelings about them?

I’d say yes. His dad was a soldier/guard and will have taught Caedon some things. His mom, too. (I’m not going to reveal their names for the sake of spoilers. :P) Since he comes from a medieval world, he will have had the most experience with a dagger or shortsword, though he doesn’t have a weapon on him right now.

Do you think Caedon would be able to get to know Racleva if he tried hard enough?

@steward-of-the-pen Runawin is such a pretty name! And I love your entry! Runawin’s reaction to the table and the humans made me grin. 😀

 

(This entry begins just after my last one, when Caedon went to look out the window at the storm)
—
Caedon heard Lucas’ footsteps behind him. Did he want to watch the storm, too?

“Please come back and sit.”

Caedon could hear a slight apprehension in the man’s voice. He studied Lucas’ face, wishing he could see past his eyes to know what he was thinking. With a slight nod, Caedon obeyed Lucas and went to grab another biscuit. He munched it thoughtfully and examined the items on one of the other tables.

The sound of cloth rustling drew his attention back to the window. Lucas had shut the curtains of one and was approaching another to do the same. Though Caedon tried to hide his dismay, Lucas must have seen it on his face. He left the far window’s draperies open and sat down in his chair again, picking up his reading glasses with slightly shaky hands.

Caedon’s brow furrowed. Why was Lucas so afraid? He almost opened his mouth to ask when a sound caught his sharp ear. He swung his head around to look at the far door. “Did you hear that?”

Lucas started to shake his head, but stopped himself. Another sound, this a sneeze, seemed to convince Lucas of the presence of an intruder. He motioned for Caedon to hide somewhere out of sight while he took up an elegant dagger that happened to be lying on a nearby table.

The sneeze was followed by rapid footfalls, and the door flew open with great violence. A tall young man and copper-haired girl fell into the room. A brief struggle ensued, ending when the girl freed herself and stood with her sword drawn.

Lucas aimed his dagger at the attacker, too. “You’d better have a very good explanation for this.”

The young man stood slowly. Caedon cringed to see the blood on his face. The girl apparently hit hard. He could respect that. “Do you two know each other?” asked the intruder.

Lucas shook his head. “No. But no man with any sense of honor would attack a young lady.”

Caedon agreed silently. If anyone tried to attack one of his sisters, the fellow would regret the day he had ever laid eyes on Caedon of Solina. His father would like Lucas, he decided.

The attacker nodded apologetically toward the girl. “I know. I’m sorry. I thought you were…well, I thought you were one of the captors that kidnapped me.”

She lowered her sword a little, indicating a willingness to listen. “You were kidnapped?”

“How else would I get here? I’m sleeping peacefully with my friends and suddenly I wake up in a strange place.”

Lucas shook his head. “That would mean we’ve all been kidnapped, and I definitely was not. I just blinked and suddenly I was in that hall. Caedon too.”

The girl glanced at Caedon, who still stood behind the chair. He hoped he didn’t look too silly.

Lucas addressed her again. “What about you? Are you from here? And why were you eavesdropping on us?”

“To answer your first question, no, I’ve never been anywhere like this. As for the second, wouldn’t you eavesdrop if you arrived in a foreign place and heard two people talking?”

Lucas replied immediately. “Probably. So, do you have any theory of how you got here?”

“No idea,” she replied, putting away her sword. “I was out picking berries in the woods, and the next thing I know I’m here, my head hurting from falling. But I do know that we first need to figure out where we are, and to do that we need to find a way to get out of this castle. We’ll have to work as a team.”

Caedon thought this sounded like an excellent plan. He nodded his agreement, content to stay quiet and observe.

“Alright. First, we might as well introduce ourselves. I’m Vladlena.”

Caedon pronounced the name silently. It wasn’t familiar and had no meaning that he could interpret. Perhaps she could tell him if he asked.

The others proceeded to introduce themselves. The blond-haired stranger said his name was Theseus. Caedon stepped around the chair. “And you already know my name.”

Vladlena smiled, but something about it gave Caedon pause. “Great! Let’s start brainstorming!” She drew up a chair beside Caedon’s and sat down.

Barely a moment passed before another sound issued from the adjoining hall. Something like a high-pitched yelp, it certainly didn’t sound human. A dog, perhaps? Caedon liked dogs. Before anyone else could do anything, he got up and cautiously approached the corridor.

“Wait,” Lucas said, holding out a hand, but Caedon was already pushing open the weathered door. A pair of glowing, ice-blue eyes peered at him from the heavy shadows. The creature edged away from the firelight that spilled across across the ground when the door opened wider.

“La eyl pera, minu férréna,” he soothed, unconsciously slipping into elvish. When he spoke to animals in that tongue, it always calmed them. “Be at peace. No one will harm you.”